Flavor of Love

MM

I’m a TV addict. It’s OK, though, b/c I tell myself that it’s good for building my social awareness and such. And that might be true with some stuff I watch, but not all of it. Like “Dancing with the Stars”—how was that building my social consciousness? I guess it WAS interesting how the other celebrities sort of mocked Master P’s profession that he was on the show for his people in the ‘hood, but I really watched it b/c, well, I just liked it, that’s why. That’s entertainment, you know? And sometimes I need mindless stuff to do.

Speaking of mindless, I’ve also been watching “Flavor of Love.” I could say I watch it b/c in the earlier episodes I wanted to know why’s the Asian chick got to be the S&M, whip-carrying snitch? And why’s her nickname got to be “Red Oyster”? But honestly, I really don’t want to care. I don’t know this woman, and her presentation of herself should be of herself, not a whole group of women. If only we could make it so. But I tried to ignore her snitching ways, rationalized that she’s probably just on the show to break into the entertainment biz, and got on with the REAL reason why I watch the show and that’s . . . FLAvor FLAV!!!

Honestly, I will watch any show that has Flav in it. I watched the “Surreal Life,” “Strange Love,” and now this one. I watch it b/c Flav is a bona fide, living throwback. He reminds me of the shadow of anger and sometimes life’s all about getting through the bullshit so folks can have fun (and I DO need to be reminded of that). And Flav never changes. No matter how old he gets, he’s still Flav. And it’s comforting to know that some things in life remain constant. So maybe he’s embarrassing to Chuck D at times—like when Brigitte Nielsen came onstage with her big, white-ass self during a Public Enemy concert dancing all crazy—but I’m not going to hate on his hustle. B/c we all got to hustle some way or other, and if we can have some fun doing it, then we’d be the lucky ones. Yeah, BOYEEE!!!

Now that the show has gotten down to the final 2 women, though, I have to say what’s kept me watching has been the women b/c I find the women to be interesting, outrageous, and typical. The dramafests are TOO FUNNY—I can’t even begin to explain to you. OK, we could all have the usual conversations about stereotypes and representations and sexism and racism, yeah, yeah. And not to say it’s not important b/c it is. But, you know what, sometimes we act like this—only we’re not on blast through a contrived TV show setting. So when these women are all up on Flav, half-naked, kissing, maybe giving IT up, some of us have done that trying to get a man—or keep a man. I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff lately, and I have to say that as a heterosexual woman, I think we get all kinds of mixed messages on what men are looking for in THE woman. And it makes us act crazy. So I can empathize with New York when she’s steaming—‘OOL STEAMING—when she’s not getting the attention she thinks she should get from Flav after she’s done told him that she loves him—and Why isn’t that enough for him? I’ve had those conversations with myself. I know why Pumkin is acting like a Ho b/c she thinks that’ll make him keep her around. And Hoopz is keeping this balance btn being vulnerable and hard b/c sometimes he’s got to be able to see you as his friend too—someone he can just kick-it with, like one of his guy friends. So, yeah, it’s another dumb The-Bachelor-formula reality show, contrived and fake in so many ways, but also very recognizably true-to-life. Some of this stuff you can’t write into a show about how men and women relate to one another—it’s the game, and this is how we survive it.

The show also exposes the hate that women have for each other when they’re competing for man. How did that dumb beyatch think she could spit (and it was a nasty one!) on New York and then turn her back and walk away?! She deserved to have her ass thrown in the camera if not catch a beat-down.

Anyway, do what you must for love, but ladies, as Lauryn Hill has reminded us before: “Don’t be a hard rock, when you really are a gem.” We deserve to be respected. And that respect must begin with respecting ourselves.

Ugh, so maybe there is some social consciousness element to watching this show :P